'Teabaggers' in Southlake Believe Anger and Confrontation are the Answers

Update:KDFW Fox 4 News did a report on the local Teabag protests, but they did an extra report just for the Southlake one because it included the CGS Democrats counter-demonstration.

You would think that good ole' Texas manners would have been enough for some of the “Teabaggers” in Southlake not to yell, scream, and muscle their way through a crowd of people who support President Barack Obama and our country, but these “teabaggers” are far more militant than what is truly being reported.

From Mark Bauer, President of the Colleyville-Grapevine-Southlake Democrats:

The CGS (Colleyville-Grapevine-Southlake) Democrats, a chapter of the Mid-Cities Democrats, will host the “Support America Rally” as a show of unity and overall approval of President Barack Obama and his plan to help Main Street Americans weather our current economic storm.

“The “Tea Party” rallies on April 15th are nothing more than an endorsement of obstructionism and overall lack of ideas that we've come to expect from Republican leadership,” said Mark Bauer, President of the CGS Democrats.

“We support our President and we support our country. It took a long time to get us in this fiscal mess and it will take time to get America out of it. Our country will succeed because of leadership that President Obama is providing right now,” commented Bauer.

The “teabaggers” who gathered in Southlake ranged from secessionists, racists, bigots and plain militants who most certainly were thirsty for confrontation, but already drunk on anger. A report from Kathleen Thompson, President of the Mid-Cities Democrats, who attended the Southlake demonstration:

We had dozens of people taunt us, call us communists and socialists (at the same time), and a handful of men that walked into our group got into people's faces and tried to pick fights.

Our signs read “Obama Supporter”, “God Bless President Obama” “The Party of 'No' Has No Answers.” Their signs and their causes were varied from plain anti-tax messages to “Texas Secede,” “Obama Won't Help My Special Needs Child,” and the unoriginal “Obama Bin Lyin'.” Other signs: “King Hussein, Princess Pelosi, Prince Reid, Ct. Jester Fife – O More Taxes,” “Keep Your Change We Don't Need,” and “The Audacity of Socialism”. A man waiving a huge Texas flag passed out secession bumper stickers and screamed at us to “Go back to America!”

This is what Fox News has created by engaging and motivating the more extreme of our society to hate their president and wish for America to fail. They have created batches of militant people all over the United States who hate this country. There may in fact be people amongst these crowds who are indeed protesting policy, and that is a debate that has merits. However, the vast majority of the protestors associated with these events are laced with anger and they want to destroy something. They want to hurt something—or even somebody. These are the same people we saw three weeks out from the 2008 election hollering racial epithets and on the verge of violent behavior at McCain/Palin rallies. These are the type of people that Rick Perry and other Republicans are appealing to and hoping vote for them. These are people that Republicans call their “base.”

I'm proud of any Texan and any American who stood in protest to this ratings game by Fox News today. I just hope that at some point these extremists don't act on the anger being stoked by talking heads like Limbaugh and Fox News.

Why?Why would we thank the mob for anything other than the entertainment they provided to us all day? It's not every day you get secessionists, bigots, racists, and militants all together amongst elected FEDERAL politicians. It was like watching Jerry Springer but better.

I mean face it, we were there to protest the same thing you guys advertised. You guys were supposed to be protesting “tax policy” and we were out there protesting tax policy too. The same amount in taxes and the same rate at which you are taxed is the same rate it was under George W. Bush. You were supposed to be protesting Bush tax policy, but all we heard about was secession and armed rebellion. Bush's presidency left this country in a fiscal mess and our economic system in shambles. We want our country to succeed and we will under this presidents decisive and intelligent leadership.

Paying my mortgage?I was at the rally in Southlake yesterday. I did not observe a mob or any arrests or fights, although I did see two policemen instructing the fellows holding a “Don't tread on me” banner to get down from the fountain. One of the guys asked “Or what?” and was quickly informed “or what” by one of the policemen.

I'd just like to comment that no one is paying my mortgage for me; to the best of my knowledge, no one has offered to pay my mortgage for me. Where do people get this stuff?

On the mortgage question just using logic. . . President Obama wants to pay the mortgages of those who cannot. President Obama does not have enough money in his personal account to achieve this goal. To achieve this goal the US government must provide the money. The US government has $0.00 except for what it takes from the tax payers. I am assuming most reading this, pay income taxes to the US government. If you do as I do and pay income taxes you are paying for the mortgages that President Obama wants paid for. That is where people get this stuff.

I guessObama should just remind us everyday that it's not his fault. Just ignore all of it. Let people suffer, communities fall apart and everyone lose the value of their property. Whatever will be will be…why haven't you mentioned George Bush? Seems he deserves a mention somewhere in your comment.

Just using logic, this is not a usual everyday problem. Maybe that is where some people don't get this stuff.

First, President Obama DOES remind us every day . . . that it is not his fault. Have you caught any of his speeches? If George Bush had forced a mortgage on anyone I would be the first one to mention it. (I have a list of problems I had with President Bush, not enough space here). One could mention initiatives to ease lending to get more people into home ownership but it is still not the fault of those putting forth those initiatives. At some point there is personal responsibility, we had it, we have lost it and we need to get it back.

Saw the same kind of thinghere in McKinney, Todd. Lots of people waving signs w/Fox talking points on them. No cohesive message. Blanks stares when you asked those protesting the “socialist” direction of this country if they were planning to give up their Medicare and SS….This was simply a temper tantrum by a bunch of people who voted Republican who cannot accept that fact that they lost….

Barack W. BushTodd Hill, you and the rest of the BOR are starting to sound as bitter and frothing as the other side. No one wants America to fail, they just want it to succeed in different ways. You have your opinions and ideas, and the other side(s) have their own. I understand you want to project criticism, but don't say “Hate America” and “hate their president and wish for America to fail,” this is simply stereotyping and we are sick of hearing this.

I tune out when you start using the same exact catchphrases and lingo as Rush and Glenn Beck were using to describe the anti-Bush crowd during the last 8 years.

I agree, most of the policies and failures these crowds are protesting were implemented under Bush. They should have been protesting then, but they didn't and now there's a new President and they want him to listen, the new guy is always going to get picked on. But ignoring and belittling hypocrites, right-wingers, or whatever you want to call them doesn't settle anything and only makes you sound ignorant.